Federal prosecutors resign amid turmoil over Minnesota ICE taking pictures investigation

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Roughly half a dozen federal prosecutors in Minnesota have resigned and several other supervisors within the prison part of the Justice Division's Civil Rights Division have given discover of their departures amid turmoil over the federal investigation into the killing of a lady by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis, in accordance with folks accustomed to the matter.

The resignations observe rising tensions over a choice by the Trump administration to dam the state out of the investigation into the taking pictures of Renee Good, who was fatally shot within the head by an immigration agent final week.

Legal professionals within the Civil Rights Division, which usually investigates high-profile officer shootings, have been additionally not too long ago advised that the division wouldn't be concerned at this stage within the probe, two folks accustomed to the matter stated.

Among the many departures in Minnesota is First Assistant U.S. Lawyer Joe Thompson, who had been main the sprawling investigation and prosecution of fraud schemes within the state, two different folks stated.

<img loading="lazy" alt="A man wearing a suit and a tie speaks at a podium with several microphones in front of him. Several people are standing behind him. " srcset="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/87c4287e-e2da-4e1a-8894-7f189fce660e,1768343209596/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%28612%2C188%2C3267%2C2342%29%3BResize%3D805 805w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/87c4287e-e2da-4e1a-8894-7f189fce660e,1768343209596/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%28612%2C188%2C3267%2C2342%29%3BResize%3D1104 1104w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/87c4287e-e2da-4e1a-8894-7f189fce660e,1768343209596/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%28612%2C188%2C3267%2C2342%29%3BResize%3D1280 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 762px) 93.6vw,730px" src="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/87c4287e-e2da-4e1a-8894-7f189fce660e,1768343209596/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%28612%2C188%2C3267%2C2342%29%3B" style="aspect-ratio:1.3949615713065755" data-cy="image-img"/> Performing U.S. Lawyer for Minnesota, Joe Thompson, speaks to reporters at a information convention on July 15, 2025, in Minneapolis. Thompson is among the many federal prosecutors who've resigned. (Steve Karnowski/The Related Press) At the least 4 different prosecutors within the Minnesota U.S. lawyer's workplace joined Thompson in resigning amid a interval of rigidity within the workplace, the folks stated. The folks spoke on the situation of anonymity to debate personnel issues.

They're the newest in an exodus of profession Justice Division attorneys who've resigned or been pressured out over issues over political strain or shifting priorities underneath the Trump administration. A whole lot of Justice Division attorneys have been fired or have left voluntarily during the last yr.

Minnesota Democratic lawmakers criticized the departures, with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, calling the resignations "a loss for our state and for public security" and warning that prosecutions shouldn't be pushed by politics.

Gov. Tim Walz stated the departures raised issues about political strain on profession Justice Division officers.

WATCH | Minnesota investigators increase issues over dealing with of probe: State investigators say FBI gained’t allow them to get at ICE taking pictures proof

Minnesota investigators stated they have been unable to entry any proof within the deadly taking pictures of a lady in Minneapolis after the FBI took over the case, and Gov. Tim Walz criticized the Trump administration for freezing them out: "It feels very, very troublesome that we'll get a good final result." The resignations of the attorneys within the Civil Rights Division's prison part, together with its chief, have been introduced to workers on Monday.

The Justice Division on Tuesday stated these prosecutors had requested to take part in an early retirement program "nicely earlier than the occasions in Minnesota," and added that "any suggestion on the contrary is fake."

Based almost 70 years in the past, the Civil Rights Division has an extended historical past of investigating shootings of civilians by regulation enforcement officers despite the fact that prosecutors usually must clear a excessive bar to mount a prison prosecution.

In prior administrations, the division has moved shortly to open and publicly announce such investigations, not solely to mirror federal jurisdiction over potential civil rights violations but in addition in hopes of soothing group angst that typically accompanies shootings involving regulation enforcement.

In Minneapolis, as an example, the Justice Division in the course of the first Trump administration opened a civil rights investigation into the 2020 demise of George Floyd by the hands of metropolis law enforcement officials that resulted in prison fees.

The Minneapolis Police Division was individually scrutinized by the Biden administration for potential systemic civil rights violations by means of what's often called a "sample or observe" investigation, a sort of police reform inquiry that's out of favor within the present Trump administration Justice Division.